IRS agents have collected just over US$700,000 worth of liquidated assets in Jamaica held by prominent Jamaican account, Pamella Watson.
Jamaica authorities say they are working on liquidating close to US$110,000 more. Watson is required to restitute US$3.6 million as part of her plea bargain.
Watson pleaded guilty in a court in Florida of operating a tax-refund scheme that defrauded clients and the US government of US$3.6 million.
Prosecutors have claimed that most of her victims were Jamaicans who she claimed she was helping.
Watson admitted in court that she falsified hundreds of tax returns and refund amounts on IRS forms without her clients’ knowledge.
She was ordered to make restitution totalling US$3.6 million.
A probe by Jamaican financial investigators revealed that just over J$107 million and other assets linked to Watson were being held at two local licensed financial institutions.
Jamaican authorities had begun the process to have the funds forfeited to the State, but yielded to their US counterparts who had commenced similar proceedings in their jurisdiction.
Once a fixture among South Florida’s Jamaican community, Watson is currently serving 6 ½ years in prison for tax fraud charges.
